Travels, trials, and triumphs & other foodie curiosities.

Thanksgiving oatmeal cookies

These cookies are a riff on the recipe found inside the lid of the Quaker Oats canister. They use less butter and have some of the best flavors of Thanksgiving: cranberry, pumpkin, and cinnamon. I find them to be a great treat to make a day or two after the holiday meal as friends and family still linger on the sofa and the leftovers start to ebb.

I love adding pumpkin purée to oatmeal cookies and you can add 1/4 cup of walnuts, if you like. They may not be the prettiest cookie, but they’ve got great heft for the trail when hiking, biking, or skiing when you head out to burn off the big meals. Just stuff them in and your pocket and go. With just the right amount sweetness from the chocolate chips and cranberries and the substance from the oats, after a few of these you’ll be able to power up those last hills, no problem (or survive the final onslaught of relatives, whichever boost you need most).